My angling plans for the year ahead

I think quite a few people spoke about plans for their fishing at the start of the year at the same time as reviewing the previous twelve months and most years I guess I think along similiar lines but this time around my mind was fully focussed on my roach fishing down at Linch Hill and I was just getting on with the moment so to speak. My time spent bankside in the last six weeks has been very limited compared to normal, as near to a mini close season as I'm likely to get even though I've wet a line at least once most weeks, nothing has really fired me up to get out there and I have been quite happy just having a little dabble here and there but I'm now feeling the urge to pull my finger out get stuck in once again.

It's good to have some idea of what you want to do with your time when you are an all round angler else I find that you can try to do everything and in effect do nothing, spreading yourself thin doesn't work, trying to fish too many waters doesn't work. concentrate on one species and water at a time with the odd interlude elsewhere and things tend to fall into place so much more easily, you get in tune with whats happening, when the fish are feeding, where they are feeding and what methods are working for you, once you are at that stage quite often the hardest part of a session is putting yourself where you want to be on a water before someone else beats you to it, the rest of the work is vitually done. That's the theory and it is true, but that doesn't mean that my sometimes fickle nature doesn't take over and make me drift away, but hey ho, this isn't work and I don't profess to me some super hero, the main thing is to enjoy my fishing and so long as that happens then I'm not doing much wrong. So here's a rough idea of what I fancy doing in the next nine months or so, it will be interesting to see what actually happens in retrospect.

My thoughts at the moment revolve around tench, I have just managed to secure a ticket for a water I fished last year which can produce some cracking sport along with some good sized fish, there is a very slim chance of a double figure fish but there really isn't anywhere that I know within a reasonable distance that gives a better chance, my target in all honesty is to beat my pb of 9lb 4oz's, that fish came from the same water last year and is certainly amongst the biggest hand full of fish in there so we will have to see. Timing will be everything, I stopped fishing the water at the end of May last year, many of the tench had spawned but it was not until later in the year that it became apparent that not all had as some big fish came out after I had left, I will stick it out this time around and combined with this cold spring it might just be that the big girls will still be holding their weight later on, so conceivably we might be looking at tenching until the end of June.

More of the same please

I really want to do a bit more carp fishing this year, each year I renew my syndicate place and each year I spend little time there, mostly due to it being an hour from home and traditionally my carp sessions have tended to be short, maybe twelve hours or so on average and consisting on mid week night sessions between work. With an hours drive at each end of the trip and the ever increasing cost of fuel that just isn't practical and a session really needs to be two nights and a day at least to be viable unless I can manage a full day to spend stalking. However the lakes hold a lot of stunning fish and I have been fortunate enough to meet a few close up and would like to meet a few more.

One off the surface

The stalking thing is something I have in mind for this year, I love it, particularly surface fishing, and it is a very effective way to spend your time if the conditions are right and that could be the deciding factor. If the summer progresses anything like the spring so far then surface fishing is going to be hard going if not a waste of time and I will just have to try and string together what time I can to session fish, though I do find it quite boring at times compared to the more exciting methods. So a bit of carp fishing will be on the agenda as and when throughout the year, I shan't pigeon hole a particular period of time I'll just do it when I can and it seems right, there you go, I'm drifting already!

Stalking opportunity

And then bream. Now bream have never been high on my list of favourite fish, in fact I will be completely honest and say that I have only rarely specifically fished for them, my best are one from Yateley Sandhurst of 11lb 4oz's, and last May at the carp syndicate I mention above I had a brace of 10lb 4oz's and 13lb 8oz's. Double figure bream I can cope with, their age and size makes them a viable target and they don't arrive my the dozen, smaller bream I really can't get excited about I'm afraid, they just don't do anything for me. Even after catching the 13lber last year I still can't say I was really fired up but since then I've gradually come around to the idea and the fact that the lake contains specimens considerably larger than that fish and that they are not targetted due to it being a carp fishery adds to the interest. I also have another bream water to throw into the pot, Swithland reservoir, I've got a ticket anyway with perch in mind but as its local to me and produces bream to around the 16lb mark I might just be tempted to have a go. And so it may be that when I move away from the tench that I switch to bream.

 

A couple from last year

 So that covers from now until autumn really, I shall fit in a bit of barbel stalking now and then, I find watching them in clear summer conditions fascinating and also extremely convenient in that I need carry only a minimum of kit and can often winkle a fish out in short order so when there isn't time for anything else its perfect.

Come autumn and winter I really have two species in mind, perch and chub. A 4lb perch has been number one on my wish list for quite some time now, the closest to my knowledge that I've been so far is about thirty yards away from my mate Steve when he bagged one last November. I have Swithland reservoir and the River Derwent both within twenty minutes of home and both have the potential to fulfil my dreams, Swithland is, or can be, incredibly tricky, the river is more forthcoming with some stunning fish of a good size to keep the interest up, I shall fish both to my best ability and hope that lady luck smiles on me. The later in the season the greater the chance of achieving what I want as the perch grow fat with spawn and so it may well be that I spend a bit more time after chub earlier on. I would really like to crack a local 6lber this year, the Trent might be my best bet but I do love the Derwent and that river also does give up a fair few good chub. My other option is a trip or two down south to the Stour and without the time and expense that I devoted to roach this winter then that will more than likely be the case, a trip away to pastures new is always special and is especially nice in the dark winter months when a break is appreciated more I think.

So that is my rough plan, all of the waters I am fishing have the potential to beat my personal best for the given species and while that is the ultimate goal it certainly isn't the full story, each venue is also a nice place to spend time and I am already looking forward in anticipation of long summer days following misty dawns right through to icy days on the river with only the robin's for company.